Forget about the Maytag repairman. One of the loneliest occupations in North America these days has to be the position held by Indiana governor Mike Pence. He's Donald Trump's running mate, and like the mythical repairman of Maytag fame, it's obvious Pence is not needed, acknowledged or even wanted by the campaign or its presidential candidate.

Tuesday night's vice-presidential debate between Pence and Hillary Clinton's running mate, Tim Kaine, is an example. While Pence was claiming the Democrats have been more insulting during this campaign, Trump couldn't help himself, tweeting several of his own insults including this gem: "Kaine looks like an evil crook out of the Batman movies."

How Pence manages to soldier on with such idiotic eruptions and baffling inconsistencies from Trump almost daily remains a mystery, but he brings a lot to the Republican ticket. Most observers Wednesday agreed he won the debate, although that's hardly important in a campaign entirely focused on the candidates for president.

That's how it's always been in the United States. Rarely are vice-presidential candidates viewed with any value beyond what they can bring to the immediate campaign. John Kennedy famously asked Lyndon Johnson to be his VP because Johnson could bring Texas to the Democrats' fold, even though there is historical evidence there was little trust or admiration shared between the two men. Pence was tapped by Trump and his people because of his conservativeness, but also because he is, in essence, the anti-Trump. He's not loud, he's thoughtful, he presents himself well, and he's rarely embarrassing. Pence doesn't say stupid things, he sticks to the script, and he's mostly consistent with his message.

This is how it should be for every political candidate, but Trump threw away whatever playbook exists for presidential candidates and went his own way. He insults, he belittles, he denigrates, he deceives. He is the most unusual presidential candidate ever from a major American political party, and yet -- inexplicably -- Trump remains a formidable force in this campaign.

For his part, Pence may be the face and calming influence that traditional Republicans trust in this election campaign, hoping that, should Trump win, his VP will have greater influence in the new administration than previous vice-presidents.

That's not likely, as vice-presidents are rarely allowed any credible workload or opinion. Johnson, for example, was basically shut out of the Kennedy White House, and like Pence in 2016 probably felt a lot like the Maytag repairman.